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HIST 239 - Special Topics Course in Global History

The content of this course will vary by instructor.

In Spring 2017, the title will be Global Africa.

This upper level course examines the diverse histories of Africa and its people – from ancient to modern times. The course explores the extent to which interaction between cultures throughout Africa and with other continents has shaped our understanding of African past and present. The early part of the class will introduce intellectual tools to students for them to intelligently explore key events in African and African descendant’s histories. The remaining time in the course will be divided into four broadly chronological segments: (1) Antiquity; (2) Middle Ages; (3) Early Modern Era; and (4) Colonial and Post-Colonial Era. Through brief surveys of these periods, the course thematically focuses on challenging preconceived notions of race but also ethnicity, gender, and religion in Africa and the African diaspora. In further emphasizing this theme, the course problematizes the concept of race and its use to connect multiple histories of Africa and the African diaspora. Overall, there will be an effort to put different texts – especially secondary and primary sources – in conversation with each other to explore the challenges and possibilities in the articulations of African and African diaspora histories.